Haunted (Old)
by l3utterflyEffect
Summary: The Shooting Star loses her precious Pine Tree, but Sixer's book may just guide her to find a way to revive her brother and anchor. A Gravity Falls AU of my own making where Dipper is dead, but returns as a ghost. T for some violence and death. (Not entirely on the second one, since he's a ghost.) AO3: /works/12544724/chapters/28567 Currently being rewritten!
1. Chapter 1

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 _"L'oo eh zdlwlqj iru brx."_

* * *

It was summer.  
For most, that meant relaxation, laughter, and days with no school.

But for Mabel Pines, that meant being packed up and shipped up to Roadkill County, Oregon by her parents. Or at least, this year it did.

Four years ago, she had lost her brother, Dipper, to a car crash. Her parents had moved on, and they were trying to get her to let go, but it wasn't easy. At all. They were doing everything they could; they'd put her in therapy, they'd let her sleep in their bed on those nights where she just couldn't stop crying, they even offered to get her that labradoodle she'd always wanted. But it never helped. She was only half of that dynamic duo, and it still killed her.

Mabel stared out the window of the bus sullenly as the evergreens sped by, thinking on the past. Her eyes began to involuntarily focus on her reflection.  
At first glance, it was an uninteresting picture. It only contained a girl - well, herself - wearing a plain black sweater and a navy blue skirt, and smudges of light blue she assumed were the windows.  
Until they began to shift. They came together to form a reflection of her brother on the day he had died, down to every detail- From the faded camo-colored hat with the star, to the orange jacket and the dark blue shirt, the latter speckled with stars.

He reached out to her, and chills ran down her back as a cold hand touched her shoulder.  
She whipped around, her eyes frantically scanning for the ghost.  
But he had disappeared.

She shook her head, trying to clear it. Of course _she'd_ hallucinate after nine hours on a bus.  
The rest of the ride was uneventful, but she continued to search for her brother's ghost despite that.

After the bus finally came to a halt, she hauled her backpack onto her shoulder, and grabbed her suitcase.  
At the door, she hesitated, looking back to the seat where she had been sitting.  
 _It was just an illusion,_ she thought, stubbornly trying to convince herself.

She didn't believe it, though.  
And some part of her was happy to see her brother again, without his face marred by blood or bruises from the Piedmont school's bullies or... the accident.

Dipper Pines, Paranormal Investigator was gone.  
But Mabel Pines wasn't. And if she had to, she would take on the title for herself, if only to find out if it was possible for him to return.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **Thank you for reading! This is going to be a continuous story, and I'm going to _desperately_ need a beta reader. If you're up for the task, it would be much appreciated!  
**

 **Again, thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope you have a great day. ^^**


	2. Chapter 2

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* * *

Despite her occasional panic attack after seeing those wisps of fog that may or may not be her brother's ghost in the mirror or in the reflection of the dark screen of her laptop, nothing necessarily exciting had happened to Mabel.

Her great-uncle, or, as Mabel preferred, Grunkle, was... oddly calm about her ramblings. Not that that was a bad thing; it was nice to have someone who didn't constantly interrupt with remarks like, 'You were just seeing things,' or 'You've got to move on, Mabel.'

She loved Gravity Falls.  
The only thing was that it teased her, kept her from what she wanted to find. And that drove her insane.  
But today, she finally got to find out whether she was going insane or if the rest of the world was just deaf.

Today was June 1st.

Mabel was outside in a garage sale she had just barely convinced her Grunkle to make, if only to clear out the attic junk. (The prices were still sky-high, of course, as her Grunkle was a con man by nature.)  
She was idly scribbling in her notebook, staring at the paper as she tried to figure out what to draw, when a blast of sudden wind scattered her drawings. Her favorite; a drawing of a beautiful butterfly she had taken a photo of, drifted away on the breeze. Mabel scrambled forward, trying to grab it, but when she failed, she decided to chase after it.  
She tossed her other doodles at Stan. "Hold my other drawings!" She exclaimed, bolting off before he could get in a word.

Mabel pursued the drawing as it glided on the wind for an uncannily long time, until it came to rest at the foot of a tree.  
She huffed, snatching it up off the ground. She was exhausted, and although she was tempted to flop on the ground, she stayed on her feet.  
She began to saunter back, but she stopped when a creaking noise sounded behind her.

Slowly craning her head to look back at the tree, she saw a door had been built into it, and it had come loose with her arrival.  
Except it hadn't.  
Dust coated almost the entirety of the tree, except for a handprint that she _certainly_ should have noticed, because without the the dust, it was a much darker color.

Immediately her mind was thrown back to the memory of the ghost she'd seen on the bus, and her imagination ran rampant, going through all the possibilities.  
 _Oh, god, what if Dipper blames me?  
_ The blood in her veins turned to ice at the thoughts. Ghosts were usually vengeful, and...

 _NO_ _. Dipper wouldn't do that._ She firmly told herself, although some part of her doubted it.

She hesitantly crept towards the cubby that had been revealed. Peering in, she saw a odd machine. It appeared to have a small screen on the left side, accompanied by what were either lights or small buttons. Just right of that were two dials and some sort of meter, stuck at midway. On top were two switches.  
She flipped the left one, holding her breath tentatively. When nothing happened, she let her tense muscles relax. She moved onto the second one. A whirring noise came from behind her, and she spun around, only to find that another hidden cubby had opened.

Mabel gently picked up the book inside. Its cover was made of a maroon leather, which was ripped at some of the edges. In the center, a large, golden hand was printed on, and embroidered with the number 3.  
A golden monocle was tied to it, and she grinned, standing up with it pressed to her eye. "Good day, sir!" She said in a jokingly over-pompous voice. She yelped in surprise as she smacked her arm into the door, and she shook her head. "Right." She mumbled, forgetting the joke she'd made to lighten the ominous mood that had been growing heavier and heavier. She sat back down on the log that was next to the odd tree.

She hesitated before slowly opening the book, wincing as the binding cracked. To her immense relief, it did not fall apart. The 'property of' note was still on there, but the name had been ripped out.  
She looked to the next page, and she saw that it deemed itself the third volume of... something. 'Ad astra per aspera!" It declared in what she could only assume was a lesser-known Latin quote.

Mabel skimmed through the pages, curiosity and confusion nipping at her. It had pictures of giant bats, floating eyeballs, _heck_ , even invisible wizards!  
She stopped at a page that illustrated several ghosts, and it even had some goo dubbed 'ectoplasm'. (She was certain Dipper had at some point said that it was what ghosts were made of. Or something like that.)

She stared at the page, and a light bulb went off in her head.  
She ran back to the Shack, her mind set on a plot that could either end in disaster, the disappointing realization that the journal was filled with a madman's ramblings, or, hopefully, a reunion.

Mabel was pretty sure she was insane to even try.

But, in her experience, the insane ideas are usually the best.

* * *

 **It's done!**

 **Hopefully, the next part will be done tonight/today.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:**

 **ToothPasteCanyon helped by beta-reading this story! They're an awesome person and an awesome writer, check them out!**

* * *

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 _Zkhuh hyhq wkh glpphvw vwduv fdq vklqh vr euljkw._

* * *

Stan was fine with the seances, to Mabel's surprise.  
The issue was her luck.

First attempt (or, zeroth, she supposed); The lighter turned on in her pocket. Good thing she was wearing her black sweater. She decided to hold the seances outside after that incident.  
Second attempt; Gompers stole a candle, and somehow ate it. _While it was still lit._ Weird goat.  
Third attempt; Too much wind.

Needless to say, there were... a lot of attempts before Mabel got it right.  
That successful attempt was on June 8th, after a week of stubbornly refusing to give up.

She had chosen the dim room with one of the few sources of light being the window, comprised of red-stained glass.

Candles arranged in a circle flickered with light, and Mabel squeezed her eyes shut, trying to focus and block out the uneasy questions bubbling up in her mind.  
She took a shaky breath. "Dipper... If you're here... Please. Tell me."

A hush came over the birds chattering just outside the window.  
"Mabel?" A hoarse, almost unused voice asked.  
She hesitantly opened her eyes, afraid of what she might see.

But she just saw Dipper.  
She didn't see cuts or glass from the crash, or blood streaking down his face, or purple bruises marring his skin. He didn't look anything like those ghosts in horror movies.  
He was just... him.

Words failed her, and tears streamed her face, a huge change from her hopeful demeanor. But they were not tears of grief or sadness. They were tears of indescribable joy.  
"Dipper!" She choked. She wrapped her arms around him, and he hugged her as well, and they just sat there, sobbing as they clung onto each other as though if they ever let go, the other would be swept away and they would never see each other ever again.

After a long, tearful moment, Mabel mumbled something.  
"You're so tiny compared to me now," She said, looking down at her (little!) brother.  
He looked at her with mock dismay. "Seriously? That's your first thought?"  
She stuck out her tongue at him, and he just rolled his eyes.

She gasped. "Oh my gosh, you've got to meet Grunkle Stan! And Wendy and Soos and - NEVERMIND, JUST FOLLOW ME!"  
Dipper opened his mouth, supposedly about to say he already knew them, but Mabel cut him off by dragging him along anyway.

"GRUNKLE STANNNNN!" She shouted. "Meet Dipper!" She exclaimed, pointing to her chagrined brother.  
Stan stared at Dipper for a moment with an undecipherable look. "Huh," He mumbled, before snapping out of his trance. "Well, welcome back to life, I guess, kiddo," He said, grinning.  
"Um... thanks?" Dipper said uncertainly.  
Mabel, still buzzing with energy and happiness, tugged her brother along to meet the Shack employees.

Stan watched them, the veil over his emotions fading when they left. "How do you do it, kid...?" He murmured sadly, before looking down at what was in his hands that he'd been concealing.  
It was a pair of old, cracked glasses.  
He promptly put them away, and sighed. "At least you know how to do things the right way."


	4. Chapter 4

At last, here it is! Even more credit to ToothPasteCanyon on this one- They broke me out from a long period of writer's block, and they helped edit this a lot. I took a few bits from them, too! They're an amazing writer with lots of stories! Check them out!  
Without further ado, here's chapter 4!

* * *

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* * *

 **Mabel doodled things on the piece of paper her mother had given her to occupy her in the car. She drew cats and unicorns, stars and rainbows, birds and butterflies.**

 **"Dips, look!" She exclaimed, holding up her latest drawing proudly. "I drew a bunny rabbit!"**  
 **"That's nice." He replied, not seeming sure of what else to say. Mabel could see that he meant it, he was just tired. Mabel had ended up getting detention for talking too much with her friend, and Dipper was ready to leave.**

 **"So, Mabel, Mason, how was school? Aside from the detention." Their mom asked.**  
 **"Good." The twins chorused.**  
 **She nodded. "Mabel, I know you like talking with Kaylee, but you need to learn to pay attention, it..."**  
 **Mabel, quickly growing tired of her mother's chiding, tuned out the lecture. She stared out the window, wondering how much longer until they got home. Endless forest lined the road, on and on and-**  
 **"Mom, look out!"**  
 **Mabel's head whipped around, just in time to see what only Dipper had noticed.**  
 **There was someone in front of the car.**

 **Panicking, their mother swerved off the road.**  
 **The car slammed into a tree.**

 **Glass painfully jutted into Mabel's arms, and her heart hammered against her ribs, faster than the pulse of a hummingbird. Her head ached from the force that tossed her brain around in her skull.**  
 **She opened her eyes, cringing.**  
 **She craned her neck to look at her brother, only for her blood to run cold. Glistening crimson blood stained his shirt and jacket, more blood than she thought a person had.**  
 **Mabel's heart felt like it was being squeezed.**

 **Her eyes darted around for something, anything to help. She grabbed her mother's purse, took out the phone and put in three numbers.**  
 **9-1-1.**

 ** _"This is 911, what is your emergency?"_**  
 **"M-my mom crashed into a tree, and, um... My mom's okay, I think, but my brother..." Bile rose in her throat, but she forced it down. "There's blood everywhere."**  
 ** _"Can you tell me where you are?"_**  
 **"U-Um.. I dunno.."**  
 ** _"I can track the call, don't worry. Everything will be alright."_**

"Mabel!"

 **She stared at her brother.** ** _She's lying. He's going to die._**

"Mabel! Wake up!"  
She jolted upright, gasping. She looked over to her brother, who was quite literally hovering beside her bed, and the memories from last night rushed back.  
She fell back down onto the bed, letting out a sigh of relief.  
Dipper leaned over her. "Are you okay?" He asked, worrying.  
"I am now," She lied, although it was mostly intended to make herself believe it. "Thanks for waking me up, bro."  
He paused uncertainly, not seeming to believe her. After a moment, he looked down. "...No problem."

There was a moment of silence as Mabel turned the dream over in her mind. It was so similar to the old memory of his death, scarily so. Usually when she had nightmares, it wasn't so... real.  
She looked over at him, and imagined him coated in blood like he had been in the dream. Wincing, she looked away.

Maybe, just maybe, if she had seen what was going to happen sooner, she...  
"Mabel, are you sure everything's okay?" He asked again, interrupting her thoughts.  
She nodded quietly. "Yeah. Just... you know. Nightmares and stuff." She said, trying to squash the feeling of cold dread that was growing inside her.  
"Great Uncle Stan's making pancakes." Dipper said, allowing her a distraction from her thoughts.

She managed a smile, looking at him. "It's Grunkle, dork." She said, knocking his hat down over his face playfully. "Come on, let's go get some before they get cold!"  
Despite her demeanor having returned to playful and carefree, the nightmare still lingered in her mind like a bad taste on her tongue.

But it didn't linger quite as long as the taste of far-too-sweet syrup on pancakes.


	5. Chapter 5

Dipper floated up to Mabel's door, and gently knocked on it. "Hey, Mabel? I haven't seen you all day, wha…" He trailed off when he glided through the door.  
Mabel had many colors of yarn tossed around the room, and Dipper stared incredulously at the threads that were scattered around the attic.

"That is... a _lot_ em of yarn." He said.  
"I know, right?! I found it all on the top shelf of the closet!" Mabel replied, beaming.  
"But... why do you need it?"  
"Well... most of my sweaters are black. Black is the color of emos - I mean, you've seen Robbie. So..."  
She lifted the rainbow sweater she was knitting, only to reveal that she wore an indigo sweater with a shooting star, trailed by colors."...I'm knitting new ones! I've already gotten several done. Oh, nearly forgot, I knitted a sweater for you!" She said, grabbing one from the pile.  
It was navy blue, and on it, it said 'I'm Dead Serious'.

"Are you kidding me?"  
"Aw, come on, don't _boo_ at me!"  
"Ohh no."  
"Come on, get in the _spirit_!" She said, her grin spreading across her face.  
" _Mabellll._ "  
"Admit it! You like it! I can _see right through you!_ "  
He slid through the floor, groaning.  
"Hey, don't go _ghosting_ me!" She exclaimed, running down the stairs.

"Grunkle Stan! Mabel's attacking me with ghost puns!"  
"THAT'S MY GIRL!" He shouted from the other room. "Puns are, um… oh! To _DIE_ for!"

Mabel laughed evilly as she chased Dipper through the house, using her endless supply of puns as her ammunition.  
Eventually, of course, she did run out, and was tired anyway by that /They settled for a truce since the new episode of Ducktective was airing. Neither of them were ready to miss that, even for a pun war.

"You know, I'm glad we stopped that pun war. My soul wasn't in it."

"Oh my gosh."


End file.
